Tag: mineral pigments

I’ve professed my love for Hourglass on Scent Hive before, so when I was offered the chance to test their new lipstick line, Rouge Femme, and check out the new packaging of their Extreme Sheen lipgloss, you know my answer was a resounding, “Yes! I’d love to!” Happily, both lippies have lived up to the excellent Hourglass performance that I have grown accustomed to, namely with the Visionaire eyeshadow duos and the Prodigy lipgloss.

My biggest love goes to the Femme Rouge lipstick. It ranks right up there with my favorite natural lipsticks, Dr. Hauschka and NVEY Eco, and has pulled ahead of Chanel’s Rouge Coco, my favored mainstream luxury lipstick. Femme Rouge wears like a dream. Its application is smooth and effortless, and affords excellent pigmentation without feeling heavy or drying. Femme Rouge, as well the entire Hourglass line, is rich with mineral pigments that give a saturated color so it lasts through a morning cup of tea and doesn’t require a touch up until after you’ve eaten lunch.

I was given Fresco to try, which is a perfect match for my light-medium olive skintone. The swatch is deceiving on the Hourglass website as it is not nearly as brown as their picture suggest (please see my swatch below). On me, Fresco is a rosy warm pink with only the subtlest hint of brown. It gives more coverage than a sheer lipstick, but certainly feels like one since it’s so light and soft, and bestows a subtle shine on the lips. Fresco gives a huge payoff in prettiness for such a low maintenance lipstick. It’s ideal for your handbag since application requires no mirror and no lipliner, two things you might not have nearby when you’re on the go.

In general, lipgloss satisfies similar needs for quick and easy application. Extreme Sheen in Lush is no different. I’m not sure it’s the same story for all of the Extreme Sheen colors as a few of them look quite intense (Siren for example) and might need fine tuning when swiping on your lips. Lush though, is as effortless as Fresco, but it’s a gloss so the experience is different.

First, let’s discuss the new packaging of the Extreme Sheen glosses. I am unfamiliar with the old packaging, so I cannot compare the two, but the revamped tube is gorgeous and feels luxurious in your hand. It has an elongated oblong shape that’s sleek and appeals to the sucker that I am for an elegant design.

As for the color of Lush, it leans nude with strong peach tones and a little pink. A light lip color isn’t flattering on me unless I’ve got a killer tan going on and this time of year, that’s not happening. But for lighter skinned gals, or those of you who love nudes with a little color, give Lush a go. As for the texture, it’s thick without being goopy or tacky and lasts for several hours. I do however prefer the Hourglass Prodigy formula which is a bit thinner but just as pigmented, and it’s unscented. Extreme Sheen glosses have a fairly strong vanilla fragrance which tends to be a deal breaker for me. If the Prodigy formula were in the Extreme Sheen tube, I’d be in lipgloss heaven.

Like all Hourglass cosmetics, both the Femme Rouge lipstick and Extreme Sheen lipgloss are paraben, sulfate, synthetic-dye, and phthalate free, they are not however, 100% natural.

Hourglass is available at Sephora, Sephora.com and Barney’s, $30 for the lipstick and $28 for the gloss.